2024 Virginia legislative session
|
← 2023
2025 →
|
| 2024 Virginia legislative session |
|---|
|
| General information |
| Scheduled session start: Jan. 10, 2024 Scheduled session end: March 9, 2024 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Winsome Earle-Sears (R) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 4, 2025 Last Election: November 7, 2023 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2024 legislative sessions |
In 2024, the Virginia State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 10, 2024, and adjourn on March 9, 2024.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2023 elections. Democrats won a 21-19 majority in the Senate and a 51-49 majority in the House. Republicans controlled the governorship, creating a divided government with no state government trifecta. At the start of the 2024 session, Virginia was one of 21 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2024
Virginia State Senate
- Senate president: Winsome Earle-Sears (R)
- Majority leader: Scott Surovell (D)
- Minority leader: Ryan McDougle (R)
Virginia House of Delegates
- Speaker of the House: Don Scott (D)
- Majority leader: Charniele Herring (D)
- Minority leader: C. Todd Gilbert (R)
Partisan control in 2024
- See also: State government trifectas
Virginia was one of 10 divided governments where neither party had a state government trifecta at the start of 2024 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
Virginia was also one of 10 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Virginia State Legislature in the 2024 legislative session.
Virginia State Senate
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 21 | |
| Republican Party | 19 | |
| Total | 40 | |
Virginia House of Delegates
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 51 | |
| Republican Party | 49 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Standing legislative committees
A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.
At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, there were 28 standing committees in Virginia's state government, including 13 state Senate committees, and 15 state House committees.
Senate committees
- Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee
- Commerce and Labor Committee
- Education and Health Committee
- Finance and Appropriations Committee
- General Laws and Technology Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Local Government Committee
- Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee
- Senate Courts of Justice Committee
- Senate Finance Committee
- Senate Privileges and Elections Committee
- Senate Rules Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee
House committees
- Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee
- Appropriations Committee
- Communications, Technology and Innovation Committee
- Counties, Cities and Towns Committee
- Education Committee
- General Laws Committee
- Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee
- House Courts of Justice Committee
- House Finance Committee
- House Privileges and Elections Committee
- House Rules Committee
- House Transportation Committee
- Labor and Commerce Committee
- Public Safety Committee
- Science and Technology Committee
Legislation
Enacted legislation
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Election administration legislation
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job. Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language, and, because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in Virginia. The following information is included for each bill:
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.
The methods by which the Virginia Constitution can be amended:
The Virginia Constitution can be amended through two different paths—a legislative process, and a constitutional convention. Virginia does not feature the power of initiative for either initiated constitutional amendments or initiated state statutes.
Legislature
A simple majority vote is required during two successive legislative sessions for the Virginia General Assembly to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 51 votes in the Virginia House of Delegates and 21 votes in the Virginia State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Convention
Amendments to or revisions of the state's constitution can be proposed by a constitutional convention as established in Section 2 of Article XII. A convention can happen if the state's legislature "by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house" calls a convention.
Historical partisan control
The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Virginia.
Virginia Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas • Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | S | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | S | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | D | D |
Historical Senate control
Democrats won a 21-19 majority in the Virginia State Senate in 2019, gaining control of the chamber for the first time since 2007.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Virginia Senate following every general election from 1991 to 2023. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Virginia State Senate election results: 1991-2023
| Party | 91 | 95[1] | 99 | 03 | 07 | 11[2] | 15 | 19 | 23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 22 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 21 |
| Republicans | 18 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 19 |
After the 1991 elections, Democrats held a 22-18 majority. Elections in 1995 and 2011 resulted in the chamber moving to a split 20-20 partisan balance. Both of those elections followed a Democratic majority in the previous cycle and were followed by a Republican majority in the next cycle. The largest change in partisan balance of the state Senate was between 2003 and 2007, when Democrats gained five seats. The 2015 elections resulted in a 21-19 Republican majority. In the 2019 elections, Democrats won a 21-19 majority.
Historical House control
Democrats won a 51-49 majority in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2023, making it the third time in three election cycles that the chamber majority changed hands.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Virginia House following every general election from 1991 to 2023. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Virginia House of Delegates election results: 1991-2023
| Year | '91 | '93 | '95 | '97[3] | '99 | '01 | '03 | '05 | '07 | '09 | '11 | '13 | '15 | '17 | '19 | '21 | '23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 58 | 52 | 52 | 50 | 47 | 31 | 37 | 39 | 44 | 39 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 49 | 55 | 48 | 51 |
| Republicans | 41 | 47 | 47 | 49 | 52 | 67 | 61 | 58 | 54 | 59 | 67 | 67 | 66 | 51 | 45 | 52 | 49 |
| Other | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Republicans began making gains in the state House after the 1997 elections, when they picked up two seats. The chamber moved to a 52-47 Republican majority after the 1999 elections. The largest Republican gains in the state House occurred as a result of the 2001 elections, when the party expanded its majority by 15 seats. Democrats gained 13 seats between 2003 and 2007. In 2011, Republicans gained eight seats, moving the chamber to a 67-32 Republican majority.
In the 2017 elections, Democrats picked up 15 seats and nearly forced a 50-50 split in the chamber. The race for District 94 was an exact tie between Delegate David Yancey (R) and Shelly Simonds (D). A random drawing was held to select the winner and Yancey won.
Two-thirds of members present in both chambers must vote to override a veto. If all members are in attendance, this is 67 of the 100 members in the Virginia House of Delegates and 27 of the 40 members in the Virginia State Senate.
See also
| Elections | Virginia State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Chamber governed by a power-sharing agreement.
- ↑ Control of the Senate varied between the 2011 and 2015 elections. Republicans controlled the chamber from 2012 through 2013, with a Republican lieutenant governor serving as a tie-breaking vote. Democrats won the lieutenant governorship in 2013, giving them control for the first half of 2014. One Democrat resigned in June 2014 and Republicans won the August 2014 special election, giving the party a 21-19 majority.
- ↑ Following the election, one Democrat resigned and Republicans won the subsequent special election. The one independent also caucused with Republicans, giving the chamber a 50-50 split, decided through a power-sharing agreement.
